The rapid adoption of telehealth in the practice of medicine is a result of the coronavirus pandemic. For specialty practices like palliative care, patients depend on expert-level communication and interdisciplinary care (JCO Oncol Pract. 2020;OP2000557. doi:10.1200/OP.20.00557).
“We describe the transition of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute palliative care clinic into a predominantly telemedicine model,” explained Kate Lally, MD, Department of Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Division of Palliative Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School (Boston, MA) and colleagues.
Researchers documented how goals of care conversions were increased while patient volume and interdisciplinary care were maintained. In addition, the components of a palliative visit was translated into a virtual model.
“We define the challenges and benefits encountered through increased use of telehealth and identify disparities in healthcare access that will become more pronounced as we move into a communication technology dependent future,” explained Dr Lally and colleagues. “We discuss how the pandemic changed the delivery of palliative care in ways that will endure beyond the coronavirus pandemic.”—Lisa Kuhns
